“I try,” I say, laughing. “Do you have any complaints?”
“No, it’s been absolutely fantastic,” she says. “We came a few years ago. I loved it then, but it wasn’t a patch on how it is today.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
“Are you here alone?” she asks, inclining her head.
I get the impression she’s fishing. I recognise her from the restaurant last night.
“I’m here with a family friend,” I say, with a smile. “We’re working on a project together.”
“Ah, that incredibly handsome young man I saw you with last night.”
“That would be Jaxson,” I say, harrumphing, before I realise what I’ve said.
Her eyes sparkle as they meet mine.
“Oh no,” I say quickly, when I see where her mind has gone.
“Why not? He’s very attentive. Is he single?”
She winks, and it’s my turn to chuckle.
“He is, but our relationship is most definitely not like that,” I say. “We’re strictly business.”
She turns to face me, her hand reaching out and landing on my arm. I meet her gaze.
“A piece of advice from someone who knows. Don’t be married to your job,” she says, her voice suddenly serious. “I nearly made that mistake. Philip saw what I didn’t. He made me realise that being with someone wasn’t me giving up part of myself, it was gaining something more.”
“You really have the wrong impression of Jaxson. He’s my brother’s best friend. Two of my brothers, in fact.”
“Even better. You know he’s been well vetted.”
I gasp, choking on the air I inhale.
She pats my arm. “There’s a reason there are so many romance books containingbrother’s best friend,” she says, raising a knowing eyebrow.
“Reality can be very different to fiction,” I tell her truthfully, thinking about Jax and my tumultuous past.
She looks at me, her gaze speculative. She opens her mouth.
“There you are.”
An older man approaches us.
“Hello,” he says.
“Philip, this is Kathryn Frazer. The CEO of the Frazer Hotel Group.”
“Hello, Kathryn,” he says, holding out his hand. “Is my wife interrogating you?”
I shake his hand and smile.
“No, not at all. I hear congratulations are in order. Fifty years, that is quite something. Happy golden anniversary.”
“Thank you.”
His arm slides around his wife’s shoulder, pulling her into his side. She rests her head against it. The gesture makes me want to sigh.
